Wednesday, February 6, 2002
Hot ’Bows distress It's snowing in Dallas, a rarity for this time of year.
skidding Mustangs
Hawaii takes a 4-1 road record
into Dallas against SMU, which
has lost 4 of its last 6 gamesBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comAlmost as rare as SMU having lost four basketball games at Moody Coliseum in a single season.
Definitely as rare as Hawaii coming in as the Western Athletic Conference leader, and sporting a 4-1 conference road record.
Mustangs coach Mike Dement is worried about facing the Rainbows, who beat his team in Honolulu on Jan. 12, 83-74. But he is more worried about his Mustangs (11-9, 6-4), who have lost four of their last six, with the skid starting against Hawaii (19-3, 10-1).
SMU is coming off a disappointing loss at home to Louisiana Tech, which may be the hottest team in the WAC behind Hawaii. The Mustangs fell to the Bulldogs 70-66 last Saturday.
"We're coming off a tough loss and now we have to face Hawaii," Dement said yesterday. "The way they've gone out and won has been remarkable. Obviously, they're the best team in the league right now.
"We talk about balance and we had two guys in double figures against LaTech (Damon Hancock with 26 and Quinton Ross with 17). But you look at Hawaii and they have four guys almost every night in double figures and a fifth either there or close to it.
"That's balance."
How to upset that balance is a mystery right now to Dement. But he has used Hawaii as an example to inspire his team.
"I told our team that a year ago this time, Hawaii was 4-7 when we played them the second time," said Dement. "That game against us, they started to gel and they ended up winning the WAC (Tournament).
"We ended up tied with them (8-8 in the regular season) but the key was they played well late, played their best ball at the end. We are telling our guys that Hawaii went through the same things last year that we're going through now when they were trying to find themselves."
What the Rainbows found last year against SMU was a steady force in the middle. After sitting out 22 games of an NCAA-mandated suspension, Haim Shimonovich debuted against the Mustangs, playing just 16 minutes and scoring two points.
Hawaii won 79-64 at the Stan Sheriff Center. Since that contest last Feb. 15, the Rainbows have gone 26-5 overall, 14-2 in WAC regular-season games and 17-2 including the WAC Tournament.
"Shimonovich is a big presence for them," said the SMU coach. "And their chemistry is their strength. You try to key on one guy and another guy hurts you. They play very, very well together.
"You pack it inside on defense and they hurt you with the '3.' You go outside with the defense and they go back door. Then the way (Mike) McIntyre can come in and be their leading scorer is so valuable. And then (Mindaugas) Burneika comes in and that stretches you even more on defense. We know all about Burneika."
In last month's game against SMU, Burneika came off the bench to hit a career-high four 3-pointers en route to 16 points. The Rainbows had four other players in double figures: Predrag Savovic (22), Mike McIntyre (17), Carl English (14) and Shimonovich (10).
Hawaii also hit a season-high 14 3-pointers, five by Savovic, four by Burneika, three from McIntyre and two from English. The Rainbows have hit 95 3-pointers in WAC play and lead the conference with an 8.65 per game average.
Tomorrow's game will feature the highest scoring backcourt duo in the WAC in Hancock (22.2 ppg) and Ross (16.6). Hancock has fully recovered from a sprained ankle, according to Dement, "but he got a little tired at the end against LaTech.
"We didn't defend well against LaTech and we'll have to defend better against Hawaii because they can score on you in so many ways. Right now, we're more focused on us getting better, something that Hawaii did this time last year."
When: 4 p.m. tomorrow GAMEDAY
Where: Moody Coliseum (8,998), Dallas
TV: None
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: kccn1420am.com
Hawaii's 4-1 WAC road mark is one win from tying the school record set by the 1996-97 team.
"There's no secret to winning this league," said Dement. "Everyone knows you have to win at home and steal a few on the road. Hawaii has done both and that's what is so impressive. We've lost four at home (two in WAC play) and that's more than we have in the last two years combined.
"Hawaii executes their offense as well as anyone in the country. No doubt, they're in the NCAA Tournament. They have the ability to keep winning."
Notes: UH arrived late Monday night and practiced yesterday afternoon. "We had a good practice," said sophomore center Shimonovich. "They are a good team, but we should be ready for them. ... Savovic, Hawaii's leading scorer, was named last week's UBS/PaineWebber Senior of the Week, the first time a Rainbow player has earned the national recognition. Savovic was featured during halftime of Sunday's telecast of the Missouri-Virginia game on ABC, with $1,000 awarded in his name to UH's general scholarship fund. The Yugoslavian national was cited for his athletic and academic success, as well as his community service.
WAC STANDINGS
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L Hawaii 10 1 .909 -- 19 3 Tulsa 9 2 .818 1 18 4 La. Tech 7 3 .700 2 1/2 13 7 SMU 6 4 .600 3 1/2 11 9 Fresno St 6 5 .545 4 14 9 Nevada 5 6 .454 5 12 9 UTEP 3 8 .273 7 9 14 Rice 3 8 .273 7 8 13 San Jose 3 8 .273 7 8 15 Boise St 2 9 .182 8 8 13 Tomorrow (All times HST)
Hawaii at SMU, 4 p.m.
Tulsa at Boise State
Nevada at Fresno State
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech
Rice at UTEPSaturday
Hawaii at Louisiana Tech, noon
Rice at Boise State
San Jose State at SMU
Tulsa at UTEPSunday
Oklahoma State at Fresno State
PROBABLE STARTING LINE UPS Hawaii (19-3, 10-1)
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Predrag Savovic (Sr.) 6-6 19.9 4.3 2.1 G Carl English (So.) 6-5 13.8 4.6 3.8 G Mark Campbell (Jr.) 6-4 3.9 2,7 4.9 F Phil Martin (So.) 6-8 9.6 5.0 0.7 C H.Shimonovich(So.) 6-10 9.0 6.6 2.9
SMU (11-9, 6-4)
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Damon Hancock (Sr.) 6-4 21.4 7.1 4.1 G Quinton Ross (Jr.) 6-6 16.2 5.9 2.1 G Kris Lowe (So.) 6-6 6.7 4.8 1.1 F Patrick Simpson (Fr..) 6-9 9.4 7.3 1.0 F Mike Niemi(Sr.) 6-9 3.1 1.7 0.4 Notes: The series is tied, 5-5. Hawaii has won the last two meetings, both at the Stan Sheriff Center. In Last month's 83-74 victory over the Mustangs, the Rainbows hit a school-record 14 3-pointers. The Rainbows have won the WAC series with the Mustangs once, in SMU's inaugural season in 1997-98. ... Hawaii coach Riley Wallace is in his 15th season (255-201). A victory tomorrow would give Wallace his fourth 20-win season, the first since 1997-98. ... Hawaii is tied for 17th nationally in scoring defense with Dayton and Missouri-Kansas City at 61.5 ppg. ... The 19-3 start is the best since the 1971-72 team opened 20-2, and finished 24-3. ... Hawaii is second in the WAC in three-pointers with 142 and is on pace to break last year's school record of 177. ... SMU coach Mike Dement is in his seventh season (107-87). ... SMU has lost two straight home games and has not lost three in a row since the 1995-96 season, the first under Dement. ... Senior guard Damon Hancock leads the WAC in scoring with 21.4 points per game. He has scored in double figures in the last 21 games he has played in, the longest such streak in the WAC. Hancock and Quinton Ross average 37.6 points per game, more than 50 percent of the Mustangs' offense. After a 4-0 conference start, SMU has lost four of its last six WAC games.
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